Orangutans in Odisha signal India is emerging as a destination for illegal primate pet trade

…are raising concern around the alarming influx of gibbons into the country, primarily by air from Thailand and Malaysia, as noted in a recent report on India’s exotic pet trade by Humane World for Animals. “ That does not necessarily mean they originate there. We do not know where they were sourced from before entering those countries ,” shares Sumanth Bindhumadhav, the India director of HWA who co-authored the report, indicating that the two countries could also be transit countries in the trade route. A 2025 TRAFFIC report identified India and…

…their separation from their mothers raises serious welfare concerns. A 2009 TRAFFIC report on gibbon and orangutan trade in Sumatra notes that obtaining a young orangutan for the pet trade requires killing its mother. “ It is difficult to capture a baby gibbon or orangutan because mothers do not simply abandon their young and flee. So, in order to obtain a baby, mothers are killed. And sometimes, in the process, even the babies are injured ,” says Uttara Mendiratta, a conservation researcher working on illegal wildlife hunting and trade. “Separation from the mother at such a young age is extremely stressful for an infant primate.” The report notes that…

…pigtail and bonnet macaques and rhesus macaques have documented heightened stress following separation, marked by agitation and depression. Singh also points to anaclitic depression in infants as a coping mechanism. “ When they are stressed, two things can occur. One, they stop eating. They also expend a lot of energy crying, screaming, running around and agitation. That energy expenditure can even cost them their lives. So anaclitic depression can be understood as an adaptive response to severe stress ,” he explains. Transportation adds another layer of stress. In one 2025 case, nine young primates were intercepted at Mumbai airport after being smuggled from Malaysia in a suitcase. “Eight died from starvation,…

…eight years, while males may breed at 15-20 years. An 18-year study found wild white-handed gibbons first reproduced at about 11 years, with an average interbirth interval of 3.5 years. The money and the trade route “ There has always been a desire (among humans) to own something different from what other people have ,” says Sharma. Social media can amplify this desire while making exotic animals easier to acquire. “Wildlife trafficking is one of the world’s major illegal trades and people involved in it may also be involved in…